1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a view finder of a camera, and more particularly to a view finder of a camera in which a normal shot and a panoramic shot can be selectively taken.
Furthermore, the present invention relates also to a novel view finder of a zoom lens camera.
2. Description of Related Art
The size of a frame of a film in a camera is usually determined by the size of a photographing aperture provided immediately before a path of the film in a camera body. In other words, the whole aperture (frame) can be used to form an image. On the other hand, in the panoramic shot to which the subject of the present invention is directed, the upper and lower areas of a certain width of the film frame are not used to form a picture in order to obtain an laterally elongated printed picture. It is possible to obtain a similar picture, i.e., a laterally elongated picture by printing a film frame of a normal shot which is cut to remove the upper and lower areas of a certain width of the film frame. The distinction between the panoramic shot and the normal shot depends on a photographer's intention when taking the picture. Namely, in the panoramic shot mode, the photographer must be aware of the upper and lower areas (which will be referred to as non-picture areas) of a certain width of the film frame.
In a camera having such a panoramic shot mode, it is necessary to indicate the photographing range of the panoramic shot in the field of view of the finder, in addition to the photographing range of the normal shot. To this end, in a conventional view finder, two horizontal frame lines which are located apart from the upper and lower edges of the normal frame at a predetermined distance are drawn in the field of view to define the photographing range of the panoramic shot. Accordingly, upon taking a picture of a normal shot, the photographer observes the whole field of view of the finder while neglecting the photographing range of the panoramic shot. On the other hand, upon taking a panoramic picture in the panoramic shot mode, the photographer observes the field of view of the finder, while carefully looking at the two frame lines therein.
However, the two frame lines may spoil the view of the photographer, which may adversely influence the shot. Furthermore, upon taking the panoramic shot, although the photographer theoretically understands that a picture of an image is defined by the space between the two frame lines, it is sometimes difficult for the photographer to visualize the limitations of this space.
Changing to another aspect, in a zoom lens camera in which both the photographing lens system and the finder optical system are automatized to zoom, the field of view of the finder is usually varied in accordance with the photographing range. In a conventional mechanism for varying the field of view, in principle, variable power lens groups are moved in the optical axis direction in association with the zooming operation of the zoom lens system to vary the field of view. Namely, the finder magnification (power) decreases as the focal length of the zoom lens system decreases in order to change the field of view from a narrow field to a wide field.
However, in such a zoom finder device in which the finder magnification merely varies in accordance with the focal length of the zoom lens, it is doubtful that the photographer is fully aware of the photographable range.
For instance, if the magnification is decreased to realize an increased wide angle, an image within the finder becomes too small to observe, rendering the photographer unable to recognize the wide angle from the image.